STARTING FIVE
• Little Rock and Bradley meet for the third time overall, and the first time in Little Rock, with the teams splitting the previous two meetings.
• Bradley handed Little Rock its most lopsided loss of the season last year in Peoria, defeating the Trojans 86-46.
• Redshirt junior guard
Rayjon Tucker continues to rank among the Sun Belt leaders in minutes (1st), scoring (4th), field goal percentage (5th) and defensive rebounds (3rd), averaging 36:25 minutes per game (30th nationally).
• Little Rock is 3-1 at the Jack Stephens Center this season with an average margin of victory of 19.3 points in the three home victories.
• The Trojans are paced by a balanced offensive unit that is shooting 48.9% from the floor (ranking 42nd nationally) with seven different players averaging at least 8.9 ppg.
OPENING TIP
A key home stand continues Tuesday, December 4, when Little Rock welcomes Bradley to the Jack Stephens for the first time, tipping against the Braves at 6:30 p.m. Live video and stats are available at LRTrojans.com with Ray Tucker calling the action on The Point 94.1 FM.
RISE UP FOR THE ROCK
Little Rock's game against Bradley continues an exciting week of Trojan basketball, featuring five games in a week's span. The Trojans opened the week with a Homecoming split, highlighted by the men's 79-52 win over Sam Houston State. The week concludes with another Saturday doubleheader, beginning with the women taking on Kansas State and concluding with the rematch between Little Rock and Central Arkansas in the Governor's I-40 Showdown.
HOME SWEET HOME
Since 2005, Little Rock has called the Jack Stephens Center home, and the venue has helped the Trojans become one of the Sun Belt's toughest home teams. Little Rock has posted a 127-70 record (.645) at the Jack since the doors opened in 2005, including a 69-45 mark (.605) against Sun Belt Conference foes. The Trojans have posted a winning home record in 12 of their 13 seasons at the Jack Stephens Center, winning 10 or more home games on five occasions.
RAYJON RISING
The performance by
Rayjon Tucker Saturday against Sam Houston State was one Trojan fans hadn't seen in quite a while. Tucker finished with 33 points against the Bearkats, the second-most points ever scored by a Trojan in the Jack Stephens Center, hitting eight of his 11 attempts and going 13-of-15 from the free throw line. The 33 points marks only the second time a Trojan has reached that number since Brandon Freeman scored 38 against Florida International on January 30, 2005. Additionally, the 13 made free throws was the most for a Little Rock player since John Gillom made 15 against Arkansas State on March 2, 2013.
IRON MAN
Redshirt junior
Rayjon Tucker has emerged as Little Rock's on-court leader in 2018-19, leading the team in a handful of categories. He is the Trojans' leading scorer at 20.7 points a game and has scored in double figures in every game he has played while averaging 36:25 of playing time, ranking first in the Sun Belt and 30th nationally. Tucker ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring, fifth in field goal percentage (52.7%), 11th in total rebounds (6.6) and third in defensive rebounds (5.9).
LAST TIME OUT
Paced by career-high performances by
Rayjon Tucker and
Ryan Pippins, Little Rock jumped out to an early lead against Sam Houston State and never looked back, routing the Bearkats 79-52 Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center. Tucker finished with 33 points (the second-most ever by a Trojan at the Jack Stephens Center) with Pippins adding 20 points of his own which helped spark a 16-2 Little Rock run to close out the first half. Little Rock held Sam Houston to just 5-of-27 from three-point range (18.5%), leading by as many as 31 in the second half.
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE BRAVES
Little Rock's first-ever trip to Peoria is one the Trojans were hoping to forget quickly as little went right for Little Rock, suffering an 86-46 loss to Bradley on December 13, 2017. Little Rock shot just 35.6 percent from the floor and attempted only eight free throws while watching the Braves hit 60.8 percent of their attempts. A 13-0 Bradley run early in the first half put the game out of reach early as the Braves led by as many as 45 in the second half, handing Little Rock its worst defeat since an 88-41 loss to Oklahoma State on December 12, 1998, nearly 19 years to the day.
PRODUCTIVE PIP
Junior
Ryan Pippins was one of the key factors in Little Rock's dominant 79-52 victory over Sam Houston State, contributing a career-high 20 points with five rebounds. Pippins connected on six of his 12 field goal attempts, going 5-of-9 from three-point range, surpassing his previous career-best of 19 in the upset win at Louisiana last season. In eight games this season, Pippins ranks fourth on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) while ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (41.7%).
LEAN ON LOTTIE
Its not often a player in the eighth game of his sophomore year can boast the team's most experience, but that is where
Jaizec Lottie finds himself. The sophomore guard from Aurora, Colorado, is Little Rock's active leader in minutes played, eclipsing the 1,000-minute mark against Sam Houston State and tallying 1,030 as a Trojan. Lottie is also the Trojans' active leader in games started (38) and is tied for second in games played (39), averaging 8.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 2018-19.
ELITE COMPANY
Trojan fans have been witnesses to a pair of incredible individual offensive performances this year, beginning with
Markquis Nowell's 34-point game in the season opener against Southeastern Oklahoma State, followed by
Rayjon Tucker's 33-point output against Sam Houston State Saturday. Nowell and Tucker now hold the number one and two scoring performances by a Trojan at the Jack Stephens Center and are two of just four Trojans to register 33 points or more in a game since 2000, joining Brandon Freeman (38 vs. Florida International in 2005 and 37 vs. Southern Arkansas in 2004) and Laverne Smith (36 vs. Louisiana Tech in 2000).
LIVE OR DIE INSIDE
One area that has played a key role for Little Rock has been its play inside by the three forward combo of
Kris Bankston,
Nikola Maric and
Kamani Johnson. In the four Trojan victories this season, the trio has combined to average 23.5 points while committing 6.8 fouls between them, averaging 2.3 per player. In the losses, however, the big three are averaging just 20.1 points per game while committing 13.0 fouls, equaling out to 4.3 per player. Combined on the year, Bankston, Maric and Johnson have eight total foul-outs, seven of which have come in losses.
EFFICIENT FROM THE FLOOR...
A hallmark of
Darrell Walker's offensive scheme is patience when it comes to shot selection, and it is beginning to pay dividends for Little Rock. Through the first eight games of the season, the Trojans are shooting 48.9% from the floor, ranking third in the Sun Belt and 42nd nationally. It is a marked improvement from 2017-18 when the Trojans ranked 275th nationally and connected on just 42.9% of their shots. That charge has been led by
Kris Bankston's 86.8% field goal percentage as the sophomore has made 33 of his 38 attempts.
...BUT STRUGGLES FROM THE STRIPE
An area of continued struggles for Little Rock has been free throw shooting as the Trojans rank 344th out of 353 Division I teams, connecting on just 58.7% of its attempts. Little Rock ended the 2017-18 season shooting 63.0% from the charity stripe, ranking 348th out of 351 Division I teams. The Trojans moved up seven spots in the victory over Sam Houston State, making 23-of-31 against the Bearkats for a 74.2% success rate.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
2018-19: 6-3 overall, 0-0 Missouri Valley Conference, 0-2 on the road
Last Three Games: L vs. New Mexico (85-75); L at IUPUI (85-73); W vs. Chicago State (86-70)
Series: Series tied, 1-1 (.500) |
Streak: Bradley won 1 |
First: Dec. 22, 2014 (W, 64-54) |
Last: Dec. 13, 2017 (L, 46-86)
Head Coach: Brian Wardle (Marquette, 2001). Fourth season at Bradley (44-63); Ninth season overall (139-128)
Key Players:
- #5 Darrell Brown (Jr., G) - 15.1 ppg., 3.8 apg.
- #10 Elijah Childs (So., F) - 13.7 ppg., 8.6 rpg.
- #25 Nate Kennell (Jr., G) - 9.9 ppg., 2.8 rpg.
- #12 Koch Bar (Jr., C) - 9.6 ppg., 5.2 rpg.
- #23 Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (Sr., G) - 9.6 ppg., 4.7 rpg.
TROJANS AGAINST THE MISSOURI VALLEY
When Little Rock and Bradley tip Tuesday at the Jack Stephens Center, it will mark the Trojans' 19th game in program history against current members of the Missouri Valley Conference, posing a 5-13 overall record. That mark is skewed, however, as Little Rock is 0-7 all-time against Missouri State, giving the Trojans a 5-6 all-time record against the remainder of the conference. Little Rock is 1-1 all-time against Bradley, Illinois State, Loyola (Chicago), Southern Illinois and Valparaiso with Tuesday's game against the Braves marking the 11th game against the Valley since the 2000-01 season.
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